Darth Vader's Pet Turtle
by ThegreatlordCthulhu
Summary: A tale narrating the exploits of Darth Vader and his loveable pet Turtle. Placed in between Episode 4 and 5.


Darth Vader watched glumly as the Death Star exploded into nothingness. He knew that his son, Luke Skywalker, would soon be following him in attempt to destroy his TIE Fighter. He urged the ship to higher speeds.

Darth Vader took a moment to check on Fedrigo. The oblong turtle's shell was a little chipped from Vader's hasty exit into the Fighter, but other than that, Fedrigo appeared to be unharmed. Vader breathed an obnoxiously loud sigh of relief. He didn't know what he would do if his darling Fedrigo was hurt.

Darth Vader increased the speed of his ship, and soon enough he and Fedrigo were lost in the stars.

* * *

But in only a few hours of travel, the power source in the Fighter was diminished. Vader needed to reach a port to power up, but unfortunately he was still deep in Rebel territory.

"Well?" he murmured. "What do you think, Fedrigo?"

Fedrigo made no reaction.

"Yes," Vader said. "I understand. We'll just have to find a planet and perhaps need to fight our way out. Perhaps we can destroy enough of the Rebels to be able to charge our ship and flee."

Again Fedrigo did not react, other than to lazily blink one eye. Darth Vader did not notice this startling admission, for he was far too busy preparing his ship to land upon the greenish swamp planet below him.

"All set," he announced. "Are you ready to land, Fedrigo?"

Fedrigo swallowed loudly. He had discovered a wire-worm lurking in the toe of Darth Vader's left boot. Fedrigo was quite satisfied.

"Then we shall go." Grimly, Darth Vader pushed the ship down to slip through the atmosphere, and land rather daringly into a spot of mud by a wide swamp. About one hundred feet to his right was a rest stop, but Darth Vader thought it would be much too easy to recharge there.

The Sith apprentice lifted up his pet turtle and placed him in a side pocket. Fedrigo was a little bulky, but since Darth Vader had wide pockets, it didn't particularly matter.

"We'll fight our way out," Vader said grimly. "That is for certain. It is fated. But first we must snatch a power source."

Darth Vader set off for the rest stop. They were certain to have power sources...

"Hello, there! Ship need recharged? I saw it go down in the swamp, I've got- Ulk-"

Darth Vader slowly lifted his hand, pulling the alien up by the neck.

In his pocket, Fedrigo breathed silently. Fedrigo approved.

"You will give me TEN power sources," Vader said distinctly. "For free."

"Ugh- ah- fine- take... oh."

The alien slumped. Darth Vader dropped it, and swept up the creature's power sources and slipped them into another bag.

"Hey! That's Darth Vader!"

A whole team of Rebel soldiers were charging. In one swift movement, Vader drew his lightsaber and slashed the leader into pieces. The others soon followed...

"Not so fast, Darth Vader!"

The Sith apprentice turned his masked face and tilted his head back with a sigh. Jedi. He should have noticed the shift of Force.

"Fool," Darth Vader said, and used the Force to lift a boulder from behind the Jedi. Right before it dropped, the Jedi darted out of the way, and Darth Vader ducked a lead pipe flying at his head.

This Jedi was quite adept.

Darth Vader felt a shiver of fear in his electrodes. What remained of his intestines was set aquiver. This Jedi could very well destroy him in his weakened state.

"You shall not-" Darth Vader began imperiously, but the Jedi had a second lead pipe coming, and promptly bashed him across the face.

* * *

Darth Vader awoke in a dark room. However, with the implanted technology in his mask and body, he could tell no one else was in the room, except for Fedrigo.

"Nuts," Vader said. "We have been taken."

He tried loosing his bonds with the Force, but he had been weakened too badly.

"Nuts," he said again. He actually wouldn't mind eating some nuts at this time, perhaps some of the assorted kinds, with walnuts and almonds and cashews. Vader was quite the fan of cashews, he had them when he felt lonely.

Fedrigo made a tiny noise deep within his shell. It was a sound of complete terror. Vader understood him, and took a moment to pity the turtle.

"Don't worry, Fedrigo," he soothed. "All will be well. You are naught but a mere turtle. The Rebels would not harm you... but don't tell them that you know any information. I presume they would think you innocent, but if they decide to interrogate you, you mustn't breathe a word."

Fedrigo did not speak.

Darth Vader let out a sigh. "Seeing my son really tore me up. Fedrigo, if I don't make it..."

Again, the turtle did not react.

"Oh, of course I will try to survive, but IF I do not... Fedrigo, please tell my precious Luke and Leia that they are my children, and even though I try to kill them, I love them very much. Alright? Do you have all that?"

Although it was doubtful that Fedrigo would reply, he had no chance to. The door to their prison burst open, and an entire team of Jedi were pouring in.

"Darth Vader," one Jedi said smugly. "You are finished."

"No!" Darth Vader cried. He struggled madly at his bindings, but it was too strong for him.

Near a dozen lightsabers flicked on. The first of them began to fall upon him...

Right at that moment, a phenomenal shift in the Force made all the Jedi cringe and shrink away. Someone was summoning incredible powers.

With a low roar, the entire building fell upon them. Darth Vader managed to tear his ropes loose and cowered on the floor, but as he looked up, roughly a seven tons of cement was floating above him. He, out of all, had been spared.

"Oh, I thank you, Fedrigo," Darth Vader said gratefully. He scrambled out of the ruins, and hacked into a ship in moments. Behind him, the cement fell to the ground with a low rumble.

As Darth Vader and Fedrigo zoomed away into their newly stolen ship, Vader voiced his touched emotions. "You have saved my life. I shall never be able to repay you."

Deep in the Sith's pocket, the turtle swallowed passively, and pulled his head deeper into his shell.


End file.
